Once Upon A Cancelled Debrief
by Britt4
Summary: Based on the Season 2 finale, what if Vaughn didn't have to go to that debrief?


Author: Brit Title: Once Upon A Cancelled Debrief Category: Drama, Romance Ships: Sydney/Vaughn, of course! Summary: What if Vaughn didn't have to go to a debrief? Disclaimer: I don't own them, blah blah blah. You've heard it before. Distribution: Just let me know where it's going, first. Authors Note: Hopefully this will help heal our shippy hearts a bit over the summer! Timeline: Season finale...that scene about Santa Barbara in the car onwards. Rating: This one is pretty good in terms of rating...G? Nothing higher. Feedback: Pretty please?  
  
"So you'll pick me up after the debrief tonight?" Sydney asked him.  
  
"Actually," Vaughn started, watching for her reaction. She looked at him with a half-smile playing on her lips, waiting for him to continue. Vaughn could feel himself falling in love with her all over again. "Kendall cancelled the debrief."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," Sydney said excitedly. She leaned in and kissed him sweetly.  
  
"Nope. I'm already packed, my suitcases are in the trunk. So as soon as you're done packing, we can head out for three nights in Santa Barbara, starting tonight," he informed her.  
  
Sydney's eyes grew wide, and she screamed right there in the car. Vaughn laughed, thinking that it was probably the only time in her life she had screamed of happiness. Sydney kissed him again, and then stepped out of the car. He took her hand and they walked up to the door together.  
  
They walked into her apartment and found Francie lounging on the couch.  
  
"Hey, Fran," Sydney called out.  
  
Francie didn't both looking up from the book she was reading. "Hi," she mumbled back.  
  
Vaughn and Sydney exchanged a look, but kept walking towards Syd's bedroom. She quietly closed the door when they entered the room, but he noticed that she kept glancing at the door.  
  
"Is Francie okay?"  
  
Sydney sighed and pulled out her suitcase from the closet to start packing. "I guess she's just distracted by this Will thing. I can't really blame her, I guess. I would be distracted if my boyfriend were recently arrested for espionage."  
  
Vaughn shrugged and sat down on the edge of her bed. Sydney grabbed her cellphone to check her messages. She looked bored for a few seconds, but then suddenly, her expression changed dramatically.  
  
"Syd, what-" he asked, but she held a finger up to her lips to silence him. She glanced at the door again, then bent down and reached underneath her bed, searching for something. She pulled out a gun and handed it to him, then grabbed one for herself from her closet.  
  
"Vaughn, stay here. Watch the door," she said quietly.  
  
"Sydney, what's going on?"  
  
She shook her head. "I'll be right back, I swear. Just stay here, please."  
  
She slipped out the door silently and Vaughn kept his eyes on the door, the gun securely in his hand. He counted to ten as slowly as he could, but when he glanced at the clock only four seconds had passed.  
  
Finally, Sydney re-entered the room carrying a small bottle of pills. She sat down on the bed, taking deep, shaky breaths in an attempt to calm herself. She handed him the pills.  
  
He looked down at them and read the label: Provacillium. Vaughn swallowed a lump in his throat, putting together the pieces. "You think Francie is the double?"  
  
Tears welled up in Sydney's eyes and she nodded. He wrapped his arm around and kissed the top of her head. "Sydney, it's going to be okay, I promise. Listen, we'll call Kendall, we'll-"  
  
"It's not - it's not that," Sydney said, looking up at him. "Well, not just that. Will. Will was - oh God, Vaughn, Will is in the bathtub. Francie - I mean, I don't know, I just-" Now tears were silently pouring down her face.  
  
"Will's...dead?" he tried to ask her gently. She nodded, and wiped her eyes.  
  
"Vaughn, we both know what I have to do," she said seriously. "I have to do it now."  
  
Vaughn opened his mouth, about to protest, but they snapped their attention to the door, which had just opened. Francie stood in the doorway, aiming a gun at Sydney's head.  
  
"You bitch," she said, focusing her attention on Sydney.  
  
Without thinking, moving only on instinct, Vaughn did what he knew he had to. He pushed Sydney out of the way and felt a sharp pain in his chest. He heard Sydney scream. It was the last thing he remembered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
When he opened his eyes, Vaughn was immediately forced to shut them. The bright light hit them harshly. He opened them again slowly, squinting this time. When they had adjusted to the light, he opened them fully and tried to take in his surroundings.  
  
It struck him as odd that the first thing he thought about was his eyes. He didn't think about the fact that there was an IV in his arm, or that his entire torso ached, or that the room was stifling hot. The first thing he thought about was his eyes. But the second thing he thought about was Sydney.  
  
He realized with a sick feeling in his stomach that when he blacked out, he had left Sydney alone with her best friend's murderous double.  
  
Vaughn bolted upright and looked around, although he wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was the glimmer of hope in him that Sydney would be by his bedside, in perfect health. But he wasn't really expecting it, so maybe that's why his heart didn't sink when he didn't see her. Well, didn't sink too much.  
  
He sighed and flopped down on the bed, still anxious and afraid for Sydney. He heard a knock on the door and saw Weiss standing at the door with...a bouquet of flowers.  
  
"Mike! You're awake!" he said happily as he set the bouquet down next to some others Vaughn hadn't noticed before. "Good news for everyone back at work! Well, except for Kendall, that guy never cracks a smile, he never considers anything good news. And maybe Jack..I mean, you can't get it on with Sydney when you're comatose..." he trailed off.  
  
Vaughn just about threw his pillow at him.  
  
"Speaking of Sydney," he started, "where is she?"  
  
"In the room next door, believe it or not," Weiss said. The smile disappeared from his face, but he didn't look completely serious, at least. "She woke up yesterday, but the doctors still want her to stay in bed, they're running some tests. She's been desperate to see you. They won't be able to keep her in there when I tell her you're awake."  
  
"So she's okay?" Vaughn breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Weiss nodded. "But she got pretty banged up in the fight against that double, Francie. Internal bleeding," he said quietly. "The doctors say she'll be fine, though. She's expected to make a full recovery. Oh, and Tippin's down the hall. It's a miracle he survived."  
  
"Thank goodness," Vaughn said. "Wait a minute - she woke up yesterday? How long have I been out?"  
  
"Let's see," Weiss thought out loud, "You got knocked out on Friday night, and it's now Sunday. But it's been nine days, not two. Listen, I'm gonna go grab a doc, let him know you're awake."  
  
"Okay," Vaughn said. "Oh, and Weiss? Thanks for the flowers, man," he smirked.  
  
He closed his eyes and waited for the flowers (or anything, really) to hit his face.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Vaughn passed the rest of the day by pestering the doctors non-stop about when he could see Sydney, flipping through channels on the TV in the corner of his room, choking down hospital "food," and sleeping. He had a feeling that by the end of the night, his doctor didn't like him much. If he was going to be perfectly honest with himself, he realized his doctor hated him. Hated him with a passion.  
  
He heard a knock on the open door and he turned his attentions away from Trading Spaces. Yes, it was his secret guilty pleasure.  
  
"Oh God, Sydney!" he exclaimed. He was afraid his eyes were deceiving him, but there she stood in the doorway. She was paler than usual, and dressed in a hospital gown, not unlike his own. There were dark circles under her eyes, but she was smiling nonetheless.  
  
She walked over to him slowly. There were tears in her eyes, and her hands were shaking. When she reached his bed, she broke down. Tears started spilling down her face.  
  
"Syd, what's wrong?"  
  
She shook her head and rested it on his chest. They stayed like that for a few minutes, silently, until she finally spoke up. "The doctors didn't think you were going to make it. You - you made it through surgery fine, but they didn't think you would wake up," she confessed. "I can't believe I've been crying so much lately. This is so stupid."  
  
"It's not stupid," Vaughn said gently. "Sydney, I know a lot has happened in the past few days. You don't have to keep your emotions bottled up inside all the time. You know that whatever happens, I'm here for you. I'm your shoulder to cry on."  
  
She looked up at him, almost angry. "You think that's all you are to me? A shoulder to cry on?" she asked, pausing. He stayed silent, unsure of how to respond. "Do you know how much you mean to me? Do you? Because I don't think you do."  
  
She started crying all over again, and all he wanted was to stop her from hurting.  
  
"When you took that bullet for me, I thought you were going to die. When I woke up, I thought you were dead. And I've never felt more alone in this world. My mother left me twice, and my father's never really been there. But you - Vaughn, since the first day I met you, you've been there for me. Yeah, you've been a shoulder for me to cry on. But you have been so much more than that, Vaughn," she said, looking right into his eyes. "You've been the only person I can turn to, the only person I can truly trust. You're the only person I've never doubted. Vaughn, I love you."  
  
"I don't know how to top that," Vaughn started, smiling softly at her. Sydney laughed a little through her tears. "Sydney, I know I've said that the day I met you, I had an instinct about you. But the truth is Syd, I started loving you on that day. And I never stopped, not once. I just started loving you more and more each day. I've never met anyone like you. You're incredible. You're beautiful, and strong, and independent, and I love you. I love you and everything about you."  
  
With her eyes wide and still wet from her tears, Sydney leaned down onto the bed, her lips making contact with Vaughn's for what seemed like the first time in years. Conscious of his recent injuries, her kiss was so feather-light Vaughn couldn't be sure their lips were truly touching. Needing to physically feel her close to him, he reached up and stroked her cheek, the skin being even softer than he remembered. His hand wound its way up to Sydney's hair, letting her know she didn't have to be so gentle.  
  
She pulled away from him when they heard someone clearing their throat. Vaughn saw Weiss standing in the doorway, snickering.  
  
"Weiss, what do you want?" Vaughn asked, clearly irritated at the disruption.  
  
"Look at the lovebirds," Weiss taunted. "Vaughn and Sydney sitting in a tree-"  
  
"Weiss!"  
  
"Calm down! I just came to let Sydney know she can go home. Her tests results all came back fine, the doctor just told me. But Syd, I guess he's afraid of your boyfriend or hates him or something, he was afraid to coming in here."  
  
"You're loving this, aren't you?" Vaughn asked him.  
  
"More than you'll ever know," he called over his shoulder as he left the room.  
  
Sydney sighed. "I really don't want to go," she said. Vaughn nodded and motioned for her to come closer to him. She smiled and crawled onto the bed beside him. The metal bar on the side of the bed dug into his hip, but right now it didn't really matter.  
  
They kissed for a few minutes. For Vaughn, it was paradise. "You know," he said in between kisses, "as much as I hate to say it, you should probably go."  
  
She pulled away and sighed. "I know." They kissed one last time before she crawled out of bed. "I'll come see you after work tomorrow, I promise."  
  
He nodded. "I'll rebook Santa Barbara as soon as I get out of here, okay?"  
  
Sydney gave a small laugh. "Yeah, sure," she replied.  
  
She paused at the door and turned back around to look at him. "I love you."  
  
"I love you."  
  
The End 


End file.
